University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Face Air Force Wednesday
12/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2011
Minnesota Game Notes 
| Air Force Game Notes
The University of Minnesota women's basketball team continues its season-long four game homestand when it battles Air Force at Williams Arena Wednesday night. The contest is set to get underway at 7:00 p.m.
Schedule
Wednesday, Dec. 7
Air Force at Minnesota - 7:00 p.m. CT
Live Coverage
Television
Gophers All-Access
Radio
KBEM Jazz 88.5 FM
Gophersports.com
Play-by-Play - Corbu Stathes
Analyst - Lynnette Sjoquist
Live Stats
Gametracker via
GopherSports.com
Records
Minnesota - 4-5 Overall, 0-0 Big Ten
Air Force - 4-5 Overall, 0-0 Mountain West
Arena
Williams Arena (14,625)
Series
Minnesota leads Air Force, 1-0
The Opening Tip
• Minnesota hosts Air Force in non-conference action Wednesday night with a 4-5 record on the season following its 89-60 loss to No. 1/1 Baylor in the Big 12/Big Ten Challenge Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena.
• Air Force makes the trip to Minneapolis with a matching 4-5 overall record after falling to USF, 64-51, in the championship game of the Air Force Classic.
• The Maroon and Gold also lost to South Florida this season, a 60-52 defeat, at the WBI Tip Off Classic on the opening weekend of play.
• Air Force and Minnesota also have a familiar foe in Denver. The Gophers are scheduled to face the Pioneers in Colorado Dec. 14, while the Falcons suffered a 54-52 loss to the squad in mid-November.
• The Gophers hold a 1-0 advantage over the Falcons in the all-time series, defeating the squad, 88-75, to claim the Air Force Academy Tournament title on Nov. 30, 2002.
• The Gophers are 11-7 all-time when playing teams from the Mountain West Conference.
• With 1,161 career points, senior Kiara Buford needs only two points vs. Air Force to take sole possession of the No. 13 spot on Minnesota's career scoring register.
• With nine-straight double-digit scoring performances heading into Wednesday's contest, Buford is tied with Michigan's Courtney Boylan and Wisconsin's Taylor Wurtz for the longest streak among Big Ten players.
Scouting Minnesota
• The Gophers carry a 4-5 record into Wednesday night's non-conference contest vs. Air Force.
• The game is the second of the team's season-long four-game homestand and only the fourth home game for Minnesota this season.
• The Gophers' four wins have come vs. Arkansas, Binghamton, NDSU and Virginia Tech.
• The Maroon and Gold is averaging 10.0 steals per contest in 2011-12, which includes a team-high 18 steals from both Kiara Buford and Rachel Banham.
• The Gophers have three players averaging double-figures in points, led by Buford's 13.1 points-per-game average. Banham ranks second on the team with a 12.4 points-per-game average, while junior Katie Loberg is averaging 10.0 points per game to round out the trio.
• Loberg's 7.6 rebounds per game ranks first on the squad, with Banham's average of 5.1 rebounds per game coming in at second on the team.
Scouting Air Force
• The Falcons make the trip to Minneapolis Wednesday with the same 4-5 record as the Gophers.
• Air Force has picked up victories against Lipscomb, Texas Southern, Texas State and Jackson State this season.
• Two of the team's losses were by three points or fewer.
• Last weekend the Falcons hosted the Air Force Clasic, posting a 64-51 win vs. Jackson State Friday, before falling to South Florida Saturday, 73-70.
• Alicia Leiprandt is Air Force's leading scorer with an 18.6 points-per-game average.
• Dymond James paces the Falcons in rebounding, averaging 7.1 boards per game, while she ranks second on the squad with 11.4 points per game.
• Air Force is outrebounding its opponents by an average of 4.3 boards per game.
Series History
• Minnesota leads Air Force in the all-time series, 1-0.
• In the teams' only meeting, the then-No. 14 Golden Gophers defeated the Falcons, 88-75, in the Air Force Academy Tournament Championship Game on Nov. 30, 2002.
• Janel McCarville led Minnesota with 19 points and nine rebounds in the contest.
• With the win over Air Force, the Maroon and Gold claimed the tournament title and Lindsay Whalen was named the event's Most Valuable Player.
Minnesota vs. the Mountain West Conference
• The Gophers are 11-7 all-time when playing teams from the Mountain West Conference.
• Air Force is the only team from the Mountain West Conference that will face Minnesota this season.
Up Next
• The Maroon and Gold will conclude its four-game homestand when it hosts the Best Buy Classic Dec. 9-11.
• Minnesota will play host to both Harvard and Alcorn State at the event.
• Harvard will take on Alcorn State Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m., while the Gophers will face Harvard Saturday at 4:00 p.m., and Alcorn State Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
• Minnesota is a combined 3-0 against teams competing in the Best Buy Classic, which includes a 2-0 record vs. Harvard.
Last Time Out
• The Gophers fell to No. 1/1 Baylor, 89-60, Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena in the Big 12/Big Ten Challenge.
• The Maroon and Gold was one of only three teams this season to score 60 or more points vs. the Lady Bears.
• The other two teams were Notre Dame and Tennessee, who scored 81 and 67 points, respectively.
• Minnesota had three guards score in double-figures, which included a career-high 19 points from Rachel Banham.
• Leah Cotton scored 14 points, which included a 4-for-5 outing at the free throw line, and had four steals, while Kiara Buford extended her double-digit scoring streak to nine-straight games with 13 points, four assists and two steals for the Maroon and Gold.
• The Gophers got off to a slow start for the second-straight game against the Lady Bears, not scoring a basket until Cotton put in a free throw just over five minutes into the contest.
• The team played its best basketball In the second half, shooting .429 from the floor and .727 from the free throw line.
• Banham had 15 of her 19 points and Buford had 11 of her 13 total points in the second half.
• Minnesota had 39 rebounds in the contest, which included a team-high eight boards from Kionna Kellogg.
• Banham and Micaëlla Riché each added five rebounds and Cotton and Jackie Voigt contributed four boards apiece.
Familiar Opponents
• Both the Falcons and the Gophers have faced South Florida in 2011-12.
• Minnesota lost its contest to the Bulls, 60-52, at the WBI Tip Off in Daytona Beach, Fla., on opening weekend, while Air Force fell to South Florida, 73-70, Saturday night at home.
• The Falcons also lost to Denver, 54-52, earlier in the season, an opponent the Gophers will face on the road next week.
Breaking into the Record Books
• With 1,161 career points, senior Kiara Buford needs only two points vs. Air Force to move into the No. 13 spot on the Minnesota career scoring register.
• The spot is currenly occupied by Angie Iverson, who totaled 1,162 points from 1994-98.
• To break into Minnesota's all-time top 10 for scoring, the senior needs 185 points.
• Marty Dahlen currently ranks 10th on the list with 1,345 points from 1978-82.
•Lindsay Whalen ranks first in scoring with 2,285 career points from 2000-04.
Double-Digits
• With nine-straight double-digit scoring performances in 2011-12, senior Kiara Buford is tied with Michigan's Courtney Boylan and Wisconsin's Taylor Wurtz for the longest streak among Big Ten players.
Making Some Noise
• Freshman Rachel Banham is definitely making her name known in her rookie campaign, as she leads the Golden Gophers field goals made (47) and minutes played (302), and is tied for the team lead in steals (18).
• Banham ranks second in points (112), rebounds (46), assists (27) and three-point field goals made (6).
• Her 112 points are the most among Big Ten freshmen this season, while her 11.6 points per game rank second among rookies behind Northwestern's Morgan Jones, who is averaging 13.9 points per game, and 20th overall.
• The rookie is tied for 15th in Big Ten standings with a 3.0 assists-per-game average, which is fourth among league rookies.
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